Marketing Your Book

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How long will it take to publish my book?

Once we have all your materials, your signed agreement, and payment, LPB normally takes between three to five months to transform your book into printed, bound book
form.

The length of time a book takes depends on the services you order and how
long and complicated the book is. Copyediting and proofreading services will add
approximately another month to the publishing process. Again this will vary depending
on the length and complexity of your manuscript and how long you take to review and
approve proofs.

What are the basic steps in getting a book published at LPB?

Copyediting/proofreading (if requested)

Author approves the copyediting/proofreading changes.

Typesetting of interior pages and layout of cover

Author approving the page proofs or requesting corrections

Typesetting the author changes

Author approving page proofs

Getting the book manufactured

Author receiving the book (and sales flyer PDF or sales kit, if ordered)

Databases across the nation being uploaded with the author’s book information
so selling can begin

Creating the LPB book product page and launching it on the Web site

Where will my book be sold?

You can sell your book from your own inventory, or readers can buy it from retail
outlets. Your book will be listed on databases available to retailers of all kinds such
as Baker and Taylor and Amazon. Customers may order your book through a store or
through a retailer’s Web site. Your local bookstores can order and stock your book.

What does “net sales” mean?

Net sales is the selling price of your book minus any discounts (that wholesalers
and retailers get to buy and resell your book) minus customer returns. Occasionally
customers return books, and those books are then subtracted from your sales total.
You will not earn royalties on any books that are returned. Royalties are calculated
separately for E-book net sales and hardcopy book net sales.

What production processes are involved at LPB in getting my book published?

Once we get your signed Order Form and complete manuscript (with graphics,
according to the Submission Requirements), we carefully review your job to make
sure your unique content fits with the services you ordered. This is an important
evaluation and gives us the opportunity to bring any concerns to you right away and
resolve them before your book enters the book production process.
Your book is given careful attention throughout all stages of the process. The text
pages (or interior pages) of your book are worked on while the cover is being
designed. Text and cover will join up in the first proof stage so you can see your entire
book at one time.

Basic Publishing Process (without Additional Services)

Your manuscript is poured into your chosen Text Design Template and typeset.
During this process careful attention is paid to placing your graphics, creating
tables, placing running headers and footers, lining text up along the top and
bottom margins of the page, and so on.

Your title, back cover copy and the LPB logo are assembled according to the
Cover Design Template you choose.

A complete proof (in PDF format) is e-mailed to you for your review. (You may
have a paper proof for an additional charge.)

You carefully review the proof. This is your last time to make any changes/
alterations to the text before it goes to print manufacturing. It is expected that
changes would be minimal at this time, because cost and page length are
affected.

If you have purchased a publishing package that provides you a marketing sales
flyer for your book or a sales kit, a proof is sent to you with your book proof.
You either sign off your approval on the flyer or kit and book or mark needed
changes/alterations and send the materials back to us. If you have
requested changes/alterations, another proof will be sent to you for your
final sign-off. You will incur additional charges for all changes/alterations
and additional paper proofs (if applicable).

Once final approval is given, your book goes to the printer. Your free
author copies are sent to you directly (if applicable).

When we receive your order to purchase additional books to be
manufactured, we will order the books and have them delivered directly to
your destination of choice.

Your title is uploaded to the distribution channel databases.

On March 31 of the following year, you will receive a royalty check
from LPB for the net sales of your title that have occurred through the
distribution channels. Remember, if you purchase books to sell on your
own, you are making money immediately off of those sales based on the
author printing discount that you received on your printed book order.
E-book royalties are on a different schedule. See Add-on Services. Author
printed copies ordered through LPB do not earn royalties.

Publishing Process Including Copyediting and Proofreading

We will copyedit your entire manuscript before your manuscript is poured
into the Text Design templates.

We perform copyediting and proofreading using Microsoft Word software
using the Track Changes feature. We e-mail you an electronic file that shows
the changes we suggest. You retain control by choosing to accept or reject
each change.

If you cannot work in Word 95 or a more recent version of Word, you will
have to pay for a hard copy to be sent to you for your review and approval.
There are additional fees for this service, but we will be glad to provide you
hard copy.

The approved copyedited or proofread version of your manuscript will then
be poured into the Text Design Template. The rest of the production process
follows as stated in the basic production process.

We always keep in mind that it is imperative to keep the voice, tone, and
flavor of your written word in tact, so please know that all queries and
changes are done with that as the utmost criteria.

What is the process for an index?

Indexing will be done after all changes/alterations have been approved by you
and a final page count/arrangement has been established. We will typeset an
index provided us by the author or arrange for one of our indexers to do the
work.

Author-Provided Index

You provide your index to LPB in a word processing program file. This index
will contain all the key words and the final page numbers where the key words
can be found in the finished typeset book. LPB takes the file of the index
and typesets it. You will have a chance to approve the index pages. You are
responsible for the accuracy of the page numbers associated with each key
word in the index.

Most word processing programs have built-in index makers. Please
consult your word processing program for details if you decide to provide
the index. You cannot complete the page location of the index entries until
LPB sends you the final typeset proof that is ready to go to the printer, which
includes all changes/alterations requested. This is because you will not know
the final page location of the typeset manuscript until then.

However, identifying which words/phrases you want to index can be
started at any time. Please see your word processing program for specifics on
how to create an index. LPB will provide you with a final proof (all alterations in
place and typeset to the finished page size) of your book for you to generate
the index with page numbers. You are responsible for the accuracy of the page
numbers associated with each index entry. Any changes/alterations of the
typeset index pages will incur additional fees.

LPB-Generated Index

We will be glad to index your book. See Add-on Services chart for the cost.

We will have a professional indexer identify the key words that need to be
indexed, and the indexer will generate the accurate page numbers and typeset
the index. You will be supplied with page proofs for approval.

Our standard index is a topical index (including proper names), but we
also can provide a scripture index if your book calls for one.

How do I pay for alterations/changes I have requested on my typeset proof?

If you have marked changes on the typeset proof, simply count up how many
sentences you have asked to be changed and count how many sentences you
deleted and added. Each sentence is $2.00 plus the flat rate of $25.00
You simply fill out pages 4 and 5 of a Publishing Services Order Form and send in
your payment.

If I have had my book published previously, can I give LPB the already
designed cover to use?

Yes, for an additional $150.00, and if it is supplied in a software format that we can
use. Please talk to a LPB Associate for details.

How can I estimate my manuscript’s final typeset page length?

Your manuscript right now is in a word processing format. The length of this
manuscript version will change after we typeset the book using our Text Design
templates. Once LPB has completed typesetting your book and you get your page
proof of the layout, you will have a very close idea of finished page length (indexes
and changes can still affect final page length).

We have put together a fun math tool to give you an idea or ballpark estimate, of
the page length of your current manuscript. We hope you find this helpful and fun to
use. This will only give you an estimate because images/graphics, tables and such
affect finished page length tremendously. LPB will establish a final page count when
the pages are typeset and all changes have occurred.

Using the Page Length Tool

To use our math tool you will need to find and record the character count from your
manuscript file. Do the following:

In your word processing program, open the file that contains your complete
manuscript.

Make sure no text is selected.

In Word, go to Tools (on the menu bar) and select Word Count.

If you have notes in your file, please check the box in Word Count to include
footnotes and endnotes.

Let the word processor calculate.

Record the “characters with spaces” count from your manuscript and divide
by the characters per page listed in the chart below. This is the estimated
number of pages your manuscript text will fill.

Now take the number of tables, charts, graphics, photos, etc. that you have
and divide it by 3. That is the approximate number of pages your images/
graphics will fill

Now add 6 pages if you are adding an index

Now add 4 more pages.

Total up all the column of numbers to get your total estimated pages.

Please note: We cannot produce a book with fewer than 60,000 characters and spaces.

If I am applying for copyright permission, how do I establish the page count of
my printed book and the date it will be published?

Refer to the question and answer above on estimating final page length to
calculate it. It is fine to give the copyright holder that estimated page length.

Use a publication date that is 4 to 5 months after the date you plan to send in
your manuscript, order form, and payment to LPB.

What is DRM—Digital Rights Management?

It is an electronic security layer that is wrapped around your electronic book to help
protect it from being copied and printed without your consent or for free. Like all
electronic safety measures it is not 100% secure. We recommend you use Google
Alert to keep tabs on any illegal uses of your e-book. This tool can help you quickly
request that illegal copies be removed from the Internet.